Assessing the Impact of Space School UK

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the benefits of Space School UK, demonstrating its positive impact on students' career choices, skills, and higher education preparedness, especially among underrepresented groups, as shown through alumni surveys.

Contribution

It provides an empirical assessment of SSUK's impact on students' career development and educational aspirations, highlighting its role in bridging secondary and tertiary space education.

Findings

SSUK significantly influences students' career choices.

Participants report increased skills and knowledge about space careers.

Higher impact observed among women and non-selective school students.

Abstract

Space School UK (SSUK) is a series of summer residential programmes for secondary school aged students, held at the University of Leicester over 3 weeks each year. Each programme involves space-related activities run by a team of mentors - currently including university students, graduates, teachers and young professionals associated with the space sector - all of whom attended SSUK as students themselves. It includes the 6-day Space School UK and the 8-day Senior Space School UK (collectively SSUK) which are for 13-15 and 16-18 year olds respectively. This paper seeks to evaluate and present the benefits of SSUK to individuals who participate in the programme, organisations involved in the running of SSUK, and to highlight and promote these benefits to the wider UK and global space community. We also address which facets of SSUK make for such an engaging and encouraging experience for the students, that are missing from students' traditional education. We seek to show how SSUK acts as an excellent example of how to bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary space education. Through an analysis of our alumni survey results, we show that attending SSUK has a significant impact on career choices and prepares students for Higher Education, regardless of background. Some groups, such as women, and those from non-selective schools, reported a higher impact in some of these areas than others. Metrics such as skills learned, goals achieved, alongside knowledge of careers and Higher Education possibilities are discussed for various demographics.